If the name “Erik Loomis” sounds familiar, that may be because you have read him in the politically progressive blog “Lawyers, Guns & Money” under the headings “Erik Visits a Grave" (410 entries to date) and “This Day in Labor History," in which he introduces his readers to such memorable events as ...more

Excellent, excellent book, and possibly my new favorite intro to the basics of US labor history.

What worked here:
This read as history, not as political theory. It feels like the author is studying these events with an eye to learn from them, not to retroactively apply an interpretation to advance ...more

Erik Loomis's A History of America in Ten Strikes provides a brief overview of American labor history, from colonial times through the Trump Administration. Despite the title, Loomis's narrative is less structured around specific labor actions than broader trends and subjects: labor vs. capital, the ...more

I've been a big fan of Erik Loomis' writing over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money for years. Additionally, as I believe I mentioned in my review of John Nichols' The "S" Word, I had an American history event to run for DSA and nowhere near enough time to read Zinn for it! Fortunately, Loomis' new boo ...more

A descriptive but concise summary of some of the most important labor movements in American history.

The author does an excellent job conveying the context and narratives of each of the featured strikes by showing analog labor efforts in other parts of the country, how media reacted, and how the gov ...more

A very interesting take on the history of the labor movement that bends towards neoliberalism at times. Author seems to paradoxically admire radicals but have a deeply ingrained fear of radicalism like only an American liberal can. Very helpful for those trying to understand the history of American ...more

This was great! Lots of detailed history and good political analyses. ...more

This book could also be titled "It's almost like the history of the nation's labor movement is intentionally omitted from US education."

But seriously, I found this history to be fascinating and kept thinking of all the gaps in my own education that this book was only starting to fill.

My one quibble ...more

In a time when organized labor and unions are on the decline, Loomis provides a fierce call to arms to not let US labor rights slip from our fingers. I really enjoyed reading about 10 of the most significant strikes in US history, especially the one he details of slaves to attempted to self-emancipa ...more

Read my Review on my blog: http://www.quentinlewis.com/blog/2020...

A rich but readable account of American labor history that is refreshingly honest about both its successes and its challenges.

Eric Loomis is a professor of history at the University of Rhode Island, but is perhaps more well known as ...more

This is not one of those popular nonfiction books that reads like fiction. It summarizes a lot and drags down in detail. I can't say it's a fun read, but then, it is an important read, for providing a sweeping overview of labor struggles in the United States over time. If it feels repetitive, well, ...more

I really enjoyed this book! Was dense at times but was a great overview of the labor struggle in the U.S. Takeaways: (1) The historical labor struggle was so violent omg; (2) We have so much to thank unions for; (3) The government’s attitude towards unions can make or break the movement; (4) 🗣 Your ...more